Images and Imagination

Wow! I think the 4th of July should happen on Sunday every year! When else do you get three nights of fireworks and more barbeque and patriotic pastries than your diet can handle?  In all seriousness though, I am grateful to have had the weekend to step away from work and the world a bit to laugh and love with family and celebrate in the festivities synonymous with the 4th.

Between the Oakley Rodeo, bocce ball in Park City followed by fireworks and an amazing day of hiking, pooltime and R&R (Rootbeer and Relaxation) on the roof, I can’t help but think how blessed I am to live in the U.S. of A.  My generation and ones surrounding it, are beginning to witness a forgotten phenomenon, the realities of war.  Some enlist for money, anger management, others a haircut or a simple wardrobe (green camouflage is so in right now), but the truth is the money is nothing relative to devoted time and emotional strain, anger doesn’t solve the world’s problems that you are fighting for, your haircut may look good but no one here cares and your wardrobe is only as nice as you keep blood stains off it and stay alive… some are never called up, some are safe, others lose an arm and some never some home. Thank you to all veterans, currently active soldiers and those enlisted.  I salute you til the day I die.  I pray we each remember that there is always a price tag for liberty and it isn’t cheap.

P.S. I apologize for the two month hiatus from blogging.  I have many adventures and thoughts that will trickle in over the ensuing weeks.

I am Here!…India!  After nearly 30 hours of traveling and going throug 11.5 time zones we touched down in Delhi and were welcomed by midnight 90 degree weather.  The drive to our hotel already signaled the disparity and difference of where we were to where we are.  Adults and children, some without parents, sleeping on buses and the sides of the streets.   And here we were in an air conditioned tour bus being chauffered to our next destination without worry of where to sleep and eat in the morning. 

That is the problem with poverty, out of sight, out of mind.  However I believe an image can help keep the issue in sight and never leave our mind.  My goal this trip is not to capture people at their worst and persuade us through pathos to make change; my goal is rather to capture how people are making the best from the worst.  I am amazed by the resiliency of the human spirit to continue in faith and fortitude when all is lost. 

The people I have met so far are smiling, some without limbs or a cent to their name, but they still know how to laugh and go out each day doing what they need to to get by.  For every picture I take of the Indian people, they are taking one of me with just as much interest.  I hope my image and countencance reflects the same happiness and faith I see in them.

I have a great friend named Bruce Allphin.  He’s tough through and through.  Future Navy man and has trained before to become a Seal.  However today I saw man of iron melt to the mercy of a woman and be brought to his knees…

He asked me a week ago to take pictures of him proposing to his girlfriend once he got the ring, well today was that day and it was on top of Grandeur Peak!  I couldn’t complain about the 3+ mile hike all up hill because I needed the exercise, but the last half mile could have killed me. It was literally a straight shot to the peak with 3 feet of collapsing leg cutting snow beneath us, his roommate Aaron and myself.

As Bruce approached the top with Holly we began to hear their conversation, “Isn’t this just beautiful up hear Bruce?” (I would have responded “not as beautiful as you”) but instead he agreed and was kind of fidgety, she called him out “why are you being awkward?” followed by a lame excuse that his back was cold, ha!  Finally they sounded more lovey dovey and calling eachother names while Aaron and I are squatting trying to hide and my legs are cramping up.  Then it got quiet and she said “what are you doing?” and we knew it was go time, I poked my head out of the bushes and began snapping a couple shots as he proposed, after she grabbed the box and put the ring on herself, she remembered to provide a response and said “Yes!” Probably a long couple of seconds for Bruce before he got the answer.  He was more nervous than any of us had ever seen him, but he still kept to his objectives and went through with.  Congrats mi amigo.

We then met up with them and congratulated, took some more shots and made our way back down.  Once we made it down the pitchy peak I realized I left me phone at the top…so yeah, I ran back up to the top and snagged, and pretty sure I suffered a minor heart attack in the process.  It was a great walk down it was great to see the two so happy.

I think hell or high water Bruce was going to propose to Holly today.  He had a ring in his pocket, friends waiting  and a destination planned.  It was a simple lesson to me that if we really want to reach our goals and conquer our “Everests”, we need to be accountable to ourselves and our friends to make it through.  Thanks Brucy and Congrats to the both of you.

P.S. The Gallery has a shot with the dogs that may not be suitable for all audiences. Enjoy! haha

Dear Preston,

I’m Uncle Mitch.  You are my second nephew and my sister’s first child.  I will try to win your heart over at every moment just so I can be the favorite uncle and see you smile when I walk in the room, as I do whenever I see you.  You have amazing parents who love you and have looked forward to having you for a long time.  They know more about life at their age than one should have to know.  Setbacks and trials have become their stepping-stones and triumphs.  You’ll be naturally athletic and competitive because of your dad, and have the kindest caring heart from your mom. You are an angel sent to our family, welcome aboard and enjoy the flight!

Much Love,

Uncle Mitch

Thanks to Bobbie Whitney Photography for the studio and assistance

There are moments in our life that are nostalgic and provide perspective.  Last night was a great opportunity to feel both as I congratulated my close childhood friend,Sam Sorenson (Center), on his new adventure into marriage with an amazing woman named Trista.  I wish I could have found a perfectly matching photo of us all lined up, but I just found the old image in a box last night and thought it’d provide some frame of reference.

I imagine all of us can pull together a photo of the past and connect it with one from the present, and if so, I deem it invaluable.  It is an amazing testament to a friendship when you haven’t seen each other for weeks, months or even years and yet in a few minutes you feel as if just last night you had a sleepover, snuck out and “toilet papered” some house.  However, the truth is we are in very different places: Joey and I (The bookends of recent pic) are still wandering souls, Tom (2nd to left) is married and has a beautiful 5-month old baby, Sam (Center) has been married for 24 hours and James (2nd to Right) is getting married June 10.  Our jobs, interests, passions and goals vary, but we still have the ability to connect and are there for each other when it counts.  In reference to friends, President Thomas Monsen was referenced recently in a Church Educational System Fireside saying…

“Friends help to determine your future. You will tend to be like them and to be found where they choose to go…The friends you choose will either help or hinder your success.”

How grateful I am for friends that have stood by me and inspired me.

In life as well as with our friends, Keep it real and stay in touch.

If I was a migrating bird, I wouldn’t be sure which direction to fly.  Today would’ve been a good day to just fly in circles through the clear blue skies over Salt Lake, or hover the Cottonwood Canyons and witness what man can do with 97 inches of snow in the last seven days!!!  What a bird probably knows already, and I am beginning to find out, is that we can’t foresee much more than what’s directly in front of us.

A wise turtle from “Kung Fu Panda” once reminded me…“Yesterday is history, Tomorrow a mystery, Today is a gift, thats why its called the present.”

There are a thousand coined phrases to remind us why we should “carpe diem” (seize the day) or “live each day if it were our last” so I won’t bore you with those already in the bank.  Instead I share my own thought and resolve in realizing that procrastination limits how we can fully utilize and enjoy each day.

“I’m done not doing, and ready to get it done”

Fly South, Fly North, just start flying and discover your direction and more importantly your destination.  Weather may change and light may dissipate for a while, but so long as you have a knowledge of where you want to go and what you want to accomplish along the way, the journey is worth it.  And the sunsets will be beautiful as well, but there is only one a day, so enjoy it!

As anyone can concur, the morning shred today was prime.  But as thankful as I am for the pow pow it failed in comparison to my spring run-off show show (how can I spell show to sound like “now” instead “know”? freaking English language).

I promised myself I’d take my dad’s boat out every week in April, but this was about as close I could get today, Gutter water is probably as cold as Jordanelle right now eh?  My head was freezing after, but Jake, Dave and I all had a good laugh.  I found a quote today…“One who bathes willingly with cold water doesn’t feel the cold.”  As the weather warms up there are plenty of opportunities to help others and we’ll actually enjoy it if we live each day with a willing heart.

(photos by Dave Patterson  http://dpperspective.com/ )

Sorry for lack of body mass, I’m working on it.

How is it that the warmest day of the year was the same I day I had to be inside almost all day?  I suppose next time it’ll just be that much sweeter when I can enjoy it.  Besides, after the Jazz game I found my dear roomies/homies partaking in the great weather after hours.  I had my camera in hand and so snapped a couple by hand with only available light and came out with some grainy/insaney photos.

Once atop our perch I looked back and found some epic clouds that were totally enhanced by the moonlight coming over the mountains.  It was barely noticeable until I had my camera on a tripod and set the exposure longer.  Sometimes the image is clear and instant, but other times we might need to setup the shot and take a little longer on the exposure to see the image we really want, or maybe the one we didn’t even know existed.

After being sick from spring break and burning the midnight oil too often this past little bit, I finally saw my new nephew Preston!  He is two weeks old now and is the greatest miracle this year!  I am so proud of my sister and her husband for their faith and concern throughout this pregnancy.  They are enveloped by joy right now and it fills my heart.  When I hold him, it is the most calming and peaceful feeling.  This whole time I have been driving to California to find my peace in the Ocean and being close to God’s natural creations, but nothing is greater in my eyes now than the creation of a human life.

It was beautiful to feel rejuvenated today.  You know those times when you don’t want to wake up and its not just because of daylight savings?  You don’t want to deal with life’s decisions, at least just not for today?  I woke up on that side of the bed today but it didn’t last long.  As mother’s so often have a priceless intuition that they heed without hesitance, she sent me a quote this morning, not long after I began my day of dread.

“The two biggest wastes of time are indecision and regret.”  -Ed Williams

Like the altering clouds in the sequence of a sunset, my paradigm has moved, and will never return.  I will not regret roads not taken, or roads that I had taken for that matter as well.  Instead I am rejoicing that I chose, so come what may.  Much Love, Mitch